Baki (Netflix) Review

I'm kind of glad that Baki is one of those types of anime series that Netflix is willing to promote on their platform. For all the accusations the company has received in the past for pandering too much to a certain kind of mainstream audience, here comes an unapologetic anime about macho men doing the things they're best at. I'm not much of a moe anime fan, and even though I don't hold any animosity towards them like some in the fandom, releases like these do show that Japan still has it in them to not look like Korean Boy Bands, and they certainly haven't forgotten my penchant for retro ultra-violence.

This new season of Baki is essentially the third of the series adapting the Most Evil Death Row Convicts saga from Keisuke Itagaki's crazed classic. While I haven't watched the two previous seasons yet, I still didn't feel too left out as the narrator, voiced by Tohru Furuya (Seiya from Saint Seiya, Amuro from Gundam, Hiroshi from Koutetsu Jeeg) kept reminding me of what I needed to know.

Simply put, the series is about a really strong kid named Baki Hanma who wants to be the strongest fighter of them all. In order to do so, he previously participated in a martial arts tournament which he won but consequently made him a target for other new dangerous fighters. Sounds cliche, sure, but the premise alone isn't what makes Baki different from others of the fighting genre. It's how the manga artist, Keisuke Itagaki executes those fight scenes.

Whenever a fighter gets injured in the show, the open wounds are a hideous sight. I admit that some of these scenes made me queasy at times, which is a bloody achievement, considering the simple fact that I'm quite desensitized to all the fictional violence, be it anime or live action. While the wounds may look real, the techniques that the fighters, in this season's case, dangerous convicts use are very far-fetched. Some decide to use sharp weapons, others just rely on their superhuman strength to beat their foes into a pulp.

One particularly memorable example was one who didn't play fair and square and fuck his opponent up with literal bombs when they weren't watching. In addition, there was that dude who was slicing up glasses bottles up with his bare hands. It's fair to say that anything goes in a Baki fight, be it the weapons, the techniques and even the rules of engagement, victory and defeat.

For this new season of Baki, the fighters this time are dangerous convicts who have freshly escaped prison and have now decided to have a free for all melee with other fighters including Baki as one of the participants, on the streets, in houses, at the theme park etc. The settings are varied enough and often used by the fighters to their advantage.

For a show called Baki, the main character isn't all that present. He participates in few fights, but the bulk of it is reserved for the convicts who all have their own peculiar way of fighting. I do like this decision because too often in other similar series, the main character gets to take all the spotlight, and it can get boring after some time, but here, Baki only shows up, when he has to show up. If he's not fighting, he's just trying to foster a relationship with his girlfriend, and spoilers, he ends up banging her in one of the most passionate sex scenes I've ever seen in an anime that's no hentai.

I can see some criticism of the show from other people, in that the characters are all willing to literally fight to the death, and for what? For the glory of battle. This endless lust for combat kind of reminds me of a quote from Go Nagai's Mecha anime OVA, Mazinkaiser SKL. "We fight because we wanna fight, we smash because we wanna smash, we don't have any just cause!". This approach is refreshing because unlike a lot of other shonen both these days and in the past, it dares suggest that not everyone needs some existential crisis for them to do battle, and some just love it for what it is.

As with the positives, I also have my own personal minor reservations about Baki. First, the animation often switches to 3d models mid fights. This does get quite jarring at times but I suppose this is where the industry is headed for money reasons, so I might as well embrace the technology and hope for the best.

The other criticism I have is that some of the fighters don't admit defeat fast enough. There are too many bullshit comebacks from half dead fighters in real pain and that just doesn't strike me as too realistic, especially when they've been bawling over an injury just minutes ago. Furthermore, the romance between Baki and Kozue is quite cute, but it's the only thing the show has going for them till the last episodes although I suppose it's a feature of this arc, rather than a constant plot point in the entirety of the series. Lastly, the other bigger setback for viewers wanting more is the lack of a proper conclusion, but that is expected as the series is far from over. Hopefully, Netflix can work out a deal to continue the adaptation in the near future, as the last two episodes were mostly a setup for the next tournament set in China.

Overall, let's just say that this new season turned me into an unconditional Baki fan. In the meantime, I'm going to check out the two previous seasons and see if they're to my liking in anticipation of the next season, whenever that comes.